Tray attachment for bedsteads.



' J. P. BAKER.

TRAY ATTACHMENT FOR' B'EDSTEADS. wucmow man FEB. 21. L91]- PatentedFeb.12,1918.

INVENTOR James BBQ/ Ber I wnmasss ATTORNEY IE. BAKER, OF CENTRAL CITY,NEBRASKA.

TRAY ATTACHMENT FOR BEDSTEADS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 12, 1918.

Application filed. February 21, 1917. I Serial No. 150,132.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES P. BAKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Central City, in the county of Merrick and State ofNebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in TrayAttachments for Bedsteads, of which the following is a specification. iV

This invention relates to improvements in tables or trays, and moreparticularly to those designedfor use as an attachment to bedsteads forthe convenience of invalids.

I The main objectof the invention :is to provide a tray of thischaracter which while extremely simple and light inconstruction,

is strong and durable, having a minimum number of parts with a maximumefiiciency in operation.

Another object is to provide a tray so constructed as to be pivotallymounted in relation to the bed and in which the tray proper may belifted readily from its pivot leaving the latter fixed to the bedsteadthereby avoiding any clamping or unscrewing of the parts when itisdesired to remove the tray.

Still another object is'to provide simply constructed, strong andefficient mechanism for reliably clamping the attachment to its supportwhich when placed in operative position and clamped must remain untilmanually released.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes inthe preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within thescope of what is claimed with out departing from the spirit oftheinvention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a tray constructed inaccordance with this invention shown attached to the side rail of ametal bedstead, parts being broken out and a portion only of the bedshown,

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of the clamping members of the frameshown in Fig. 1 detachedand arranged in juxtaposition,

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view showing a slightly different formofclamp for use in connecting the attachment toa round bed rail,

' shaped form in cross section In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1and 2, the tray and its connecting mechanism constituting this inventionis shown applied to the side rail R'of a metal bedstead, said rail beingL-shap ed i e os fseetion. The table or tray proper 1 forming apart ofthis attachment may be of any desired configuration, being here shownrectangular and it, together with its supporting parts, may beconstructed of any suitable material, preferably aluminum, to insurelightness combined with strength.

T he table member l of this attachment is mounted on a substantiallyL-shaped standard 2, the upper arm 3 of which is preferably inclinedoutwardly disposing it at an obtuse angle to its lower arm 4 and thisstandard is preferably made integral with the table member 1, althoughnot necessarily so. The free end of arm 4: has a socket 5 extendinglongitudinally inward therefrom which is designed to engage a pintle 6carried by the upper end of a combined stand and clamping member 7, ashoulder 8 being formed at the base of said pintle on which the standard2 is designed to rest and turn.

The stand 7 is enlarged at one side to form a laterally offset boss asshown at "9 and this enlargement is provided with an internally threadedlongitudinally extending bore or socket 10 to receive a screw threadedrod 11 presently to be described. Projecting longitudinally from thestand? .at one side of the enlargement 9 is a finger 12 which ispreferably made angular in cross section and is designed to fit withinthe rail R, the end of said finger abutting against the horizontalflange of said railand its inner straight face against the uprightflange thereof as is shown clearly in Fig. 1, the upper edge of thevertical rail flange abutting against the lower face of the enlargement9, said finger 12 being of a length corresponding to thewidth of saidrail flange so that the device when applied will fit snugly on saidrail. This fingered portion of the stand 7 constitutes one member of aclamp, the other member 13 being substantially L-shaped in form with itshorizontally disposed arm 14 of a length corresponding substantially tothe width of the horizontal flange of the bed rail R to which the deviceis to be attached, the other arm 15 of said clamping member 13 beingdesigned to fit the outer face of the vertical or upright flange of therail (see Fig. 1). The free end of arm 14: of clamp 13 has a laterallyextending flange or toe 16 which is designed to engage the inner edge ofthe horizontal flange of the rail R to assist in securely retaining theclamp in engagement with said rail. The arm 15 of the clamp member 13has a threaded bore 17 extending longitudinally therethrough whichregisters when the parts are assembled with the bore 10 in stand 7 andin which operates the rod 11 before referred to and which is designed Ifor adjusting the clamp members toward and away from each othertoprovide for the attachment of the device to or its removal from thebedstead. The rod 11 is provided at its lower end with an aperturedlongitudinally extending lug 18 with which is pivotally engaged anoperating handle 19, said handle being here shown bifurcated at one endto receive the lug 18with which it is pivotally connected. This handle19 is designed to be swung outwardly at right angles to red 11 forclamping and unclamping the device and when not in use is swungdownwardly under the bed rail as shown in Fig. 1. By swinging thishandle clownwardly under the bed rail, no projections are left such aswould be likely to engage extraneous objects as the clothing of thenurse or other persons.

From the above description it will thus beobvious that the traysupporting stand 7 when clamped to the bed rail R will remainpermanently in position on said rail while the table or tray proper maybe lifted from its pivot 5 and carried into the kitchen or any otherplace where it is desired to use it. By connecting the tray to the standby the pivot and socket connection, it will be seen that the tableportion 1 may be swung laterally over the bed B for use by the oc-'cupant, or swung away from the bed when not desired for use.

The stand 7 is constructed of a height slightly less than the height ofthe bed with the mattress thereon sothat it may be protected anddisposed out of sight by placing the bed covering thereover.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, all of the parts are the same as thoseabove described except the clamping members and these are changed toconform to the configuration of the railto which the device is to beapplied, said rail R being here shown round, such as is often found inmetal beds. The stand 7 in this form ofthe device has its longitudinallyextending finger 12 cut off and serrated on its lower face as shown at12 which is designed to cooperate with the a the form illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2 abovev described.

In the form shown in Flg. 4, the stand 7 is the same as that shown inthe other forms except that the clamping portion thereof is changed toconform to the rail R to.

which the device is to be applied and which is the ordinary'side rail ofa wooden bedstead. The stand as here shown has a longitudinallyextendingfinger 2O offset laterally from the stand 7 and designed toenthe outer face of the rail R, another finger 21 being spacedlaterallyfrom the finger 20 a distance corresponding to the thickness ofthe rail B. This finger 21 is designed to engage the inner face of saidrail R which fits snugly between saidfingers at its upper edge. Thecooperating clamping member 13 is substantially the same in shape as themember 13'shown in Figs. land 2, the only difference being that thespace between the flange 16 thereof and its upright arm 15 is less thanthat in the form first described, the distance between said memberscorresponding to the thickness of the rail B so that when said clamp isengaged with said rail the flange 16 will fit closely againstits innerface and the arm each other for securely engaging the rail R betweenthem.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the clamp is constructed to conform to theshape of a metal side rail of a bed which is inverted L- r shaped incross section, the horizontal flange projecting from the upper edge ofthe vertical flange instead of from its lower edge as shown in Fig. 1.Theclamping member carried by the lower end of the stand 7 in this formis similar to that shown in Fig. 4

and comprisesv two laterally spaced fingers 20 and 21, the finger 21'being shorter than finger 20 and adapted to engage the free edge of thehorizontal flange of the rail,

while finger 20 engages the outer face of the vertical flange and is ofa length corresponding to the width of said flange. The cooperatingclamp member 13' is shown L-shaped in form with its long arm 23 designedto engage the inner face of the vertical flange of the rail R, the loweredge of which rests on the laterally extending arm 24 thereof. lhis arm24 has a threaded bore 25 extending therethrough which registers with abore 10 in the finger 20 and in which bores is disposed a screw rod 11which is the same as that shown in the other figures and operates in asimilar manner for drawing the clamping members toward each other oropening them when it is desired to apply or remove the attachment.

From the above description it will -be seen that the stand 7, tablemember 1 and standard 2 are the same in all of the figures, the clampingmember carried by the lower end of the stand and the clamping member forcooperation therewith being changed in the several views to adapt thedevice for use on bed rails of different configurations, the principlein all of them is the same, the stand 7 being securely clamped in eachinstance to the rail by means of a screw rod operating in a cooperatingclamp member which passes under the bed rail and in the clamp membercarried by stand 7 which engages the upper face of the rail in all ofthe forms shown.

It will thus be seen that when this attachment is once clamped to a bedrail that it will be reliably held in engagement there with and alldanger of its becoming accidentally detached is avoided, it beingnecessary to unscrew the connecting screw rod before such removal cantake place.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of themethod of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention appertains and while I have described theprinciple of operation of the invention together with the device which Inow consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have itunderstood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that suchchanges may be made as are with in the scope of the claimed invention.

I claim A device of the class described comprising a combined standardand clamping member having its upper end reduced to form a pintle with ashoulder at its base and a laterally offset boss at its lower end with ascrew threaded socket extending longitudinally thereof, a fingerextending longitudinally from said lower end of the standard and at oneside of said socket with its inner face flattened to insure reliableengagement with a support, a substantially Lshaped cooperating clampingmember having one arm horizontally disposed and provided at its free endwith an upturned toe, its other arm having a longitudinal threaded boreextending therethrough to register with the socket in said firstmentioned member, a threaded rod operable in said bore and socket toadjustably connect said members, an operating handle pivotally mountedon the lower end of said rod, and a table carrying standard having asocket in its lower end to swivel on said pintle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES P. BAKER.

lVitnesses:

W. G. MoGREeoR, W. C. KERR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

